Solo Leveling – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

I’ve Gotta Get Stronger

Episode 4 of Solo Leveling starts where the previous chapter left off and shows the Steel-Fanged Lycan pouncing on Sung. Fortunately, Sung avoids the attack and lands a punch on the Lycan. The two squabble for a bit and Sung’s concerned for his safety. He summons the log’s inventory menu, pulls out a magic sword, and defeats the Lycan with it. 

Suddenly, two more Lycans rush toward Sung as he struggles to pull his sword out of the ground. However, he finds a way to pull it out, resulting in another Lycan’s death. The third Lycan retreats and Sung uses the opportunity to relax. He looks at his log’s menu and notices his level and stats rose because he endured real combat. 

Sung approaches one of the dead Lycans to see if they have an essence stone. Unfortunately, it’s not carrying an essence stone but Sung receives its fang as a reward. Sung realizes this log’s dungeon and the magic beasts differ from the ones found in typical gates. Suddenly, a store pops up, but Sung can’t access it because he must be at a higher level. 

Sung sells the Lycan Fang and receives 20 gold. Sung questions, if that’s a lot of money and speculates this instance dungeon, is E-Rank level at best. He contemplates this dungeon’s rules and doesn’t know what he should focus on. Suddenly, multiple Lycans appear and Sung engages them with everything he’s got. 

As he slays each Lycan, several level-up logs pop up to the point where Sung earns himself the Wolf Assassin title. Sung defeats all the Lycans and realizes his sword’s nearing its end. The Wolf Assassin title log appears again, this time informing Sung that he’s earned numerous items, including a teleportation stone. 

Sung chooses to continue exploring the “instance dungeon.” Meanwhile, Joohee receives a phone call from the same fellow who called her in episode three. This person informs her that a dungeon break occurred at the mission she declined to tackle. The person says they’re in dire need of healers, and after thinking about Sung, Joohee accepts the mission. 

Meanwhile, we see Sung murdering magic beasts and leveling up in the instance dungeon. Additionally, Sung notes how the color of the monster’s titles indicates their strength levels and how that color can change over time, depending on Sung’s current level. Sung travels to a dangerous environment and believes he’ll encounter a magic beast that’ll provide him with an incredible challenge. 

While strolling through it, the magic beast attacks Sung and breaks his sword. The magic beast appears in front of Sung and he notices its name is colored orange, meaning it’s on equal footing with him. Sung assumes this snake (or Kasaka) is the dungeon’s boss. Although Sung’s unsure how he’ll fare against the Kasaka’s impenetrable skin, he battles it. 

During his bout with the Kasaka, Sung reflects on topics regarding courage, weakness, and strength concerning the experiences he’s had over the years as a hunter and citizen. With unwavering determination and his memory of the God statue, Sung uses his strength to squeeze the life out of the Kasaka. 

Several log entries pop up, informing Sung that he’s leveled up significantly, thanks to his victory over the Kasaka. Additionally, Sung receives a dagger that’s made out of the Kasaka’s fangs and a Venom Gland. However, Sung suggests storing the Venom Gland away since it looks like a terrifying item to use in his eyes. 

The log sends Sug back to Earth. He stumbles upon a soldier, who leads Sung to the tragic incident. Sung learns a dungeon break occurred and uses his new perceptive powers to pinpoint the boss’s location. At the location, several hunters and healers struggle to combat the dungeon-break boss. Sung examines the battle from afar and pinpoints reasons why this party failed to defeat the boss. 

He notices Joohee’s struggling alongside this party because she’s still shaken up by the God Statue incident. Realizing the boss is weaker than him, Sung chucks his broken sword at it to shatter its defenses. This allows the party to defeat it. One of the members notices Sung’s dagger and asks a nearby mercenary if he knows who threw it. 

Before the mercenary could introduce Sung to him, Sung flees. Elsewhere, Sung’s shocked he managed to pierce through the boss’s defenses with his broken sword. The episode closes with Joohee questioning if Sung was the one who threw the sword. 

The Episode Review

Considering the previous chapter’s cliffhanger, fans knew they were in for an epic throwdown between Sung and the Lycan. However, many may not have anticipated his battle with the dungeon’s snake boss to be of greater caliber. Everything from the cinematography to Sung’s voice actor’s vocals carried heavy emotion and impact on screen. 

Ban Taito deserves immense praise for bringing Sung’s character to life with his powerful screeches and astonishing dialogue. Music and action aside, this episode also gave fans some fascinating details regarding the instance dungeon’s creatures and reward system. From the color difficulty system to the weapons Sung used in this chapter, gaming enthusiasts will have a field day with this one. 

On top of touching upon aspects like courage and strength in dramatic and significant ways, this episode will certainly rank highly in many Solo Leveling and anime fans’ eyes this week. If things keep progressing this way, I’m optimistic that A-1 Pictures can deliver an adaptation that’ll leave many audiences entertained.